So this was Christmas...

And what have we done? Another year over...

Here is our official Christmas card pic. Some of you should have recieved it, but I generally suck at these sorts of things:



So, I still feel stuck somewhere in November. I can't believe that Christmas is over already. It was hectic, but we had some fun.

Cordelia knocked out on Sunday:


On Christmas eve, we went to Nate's Aunt Freda's house (his mom's sister) and had dinner, visiting and presents. All the kids got dressed up and we almost got a couple pictures of them all being still.

Top: Aubrie holding Cecily, Emily holding Jason (their second cousin), Jolie holding Wyatt, Ryah and Aiden (also second cousins). Bottom: Cordelia, Gavin holding Landon, and Clara


Cecily & Clara holding conference:


It was loud and busy and I was glad to have some peace and quiet on the ride home, which was rather foggy. We spent some time with my family, made some lebkuchen (German honey cookies) and called it a night.

Christmas morning, we went to my sister, Kirsten's, house and had breakfast and stockings. I got very few pictures of either of the kids. Cecily moves so fast, I usually just get the back of her head.

Cecily loves the ducks from her stocking:

Cordelia let Gramma hold her:



Then it was off to my parents' house, for yet another round of gift opening. Cecily had a great time opening everything.

A rarely seen event: "thanks, Aaron!"

Cecily madly unwrapping:


Then, we went to Bakersfield. After naps in the car, everyone but me, the family was feeling refreshed. We had dinner with the whole Heywood crew. Then we had dessert with even more Heywoods, Beans, Bairs and McDonoughs, including the youngest addition, Kristopher Connor who was all of two weeks and six pounds. I could not believe how itty bitty he was.

Then back to the in-laws for gifts. We then played on the Nintendo Wii and finally went home.

Whew, I am tired just thinking about it.

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On feeling a bit solemn...

It's December. Christmas is but three weeks away. I feel like we just got done with Christmas. This year has gone by so fast I can hardly believe it.

I have always loved Christmas, but the last couple years have felt fairly solemn. I am a year older and we are already looking at another year. My kids are getting big fast. I am just wishing that it would be a little easier to enjoy. Contemplating life changes and wishing we could reach our goals a little faster are weighing pretty heavily on my mind.

I am hoping that I can have as merry a Christmas as possible. I am hoping to steal a bit of wonderment and joy from my two year old.

Happy December!

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All About Cess!

I just have to say, Cecily looks like a little girl, all of her babyness is gone:


I would like to tell you about Cecily.

1. She just turned 2 and is just a sweetheart. She is becoming a great big sister, helping out with diapers, trying to comfort Cordelia when she cries. She says, "'s OK, Coweya".

2. Cecily is also really tall, she's in 3t clothes and size 8 shoes. I guess I should expect that! It's just so weird when she's in nursery and she's taller than most of the kids. She's about as big as her friend "Donny"(Jonny) who's a year older.

3. Her language is increasing exponenetially. A few weeks ago, I counted all of her words and expressions. There were about 130. She seems to learn at least a couple words a day. She also has a wonderful memory. She is like an elephant. Don't tell her anything that you are not going to follow through on. One day, I told her that we'd go see Hannah (her cousin) after "night nights". The first thing out of her mouth in the morning was "Go see Hannah?"

4. She loves music and singing and is a great dancer. She can even get the beat and get to the same note that you are on when singing. On Monday, it was my birthday and she sang to me: "Hap-Ay to you..."

5. Cecily loves animals, especially horses. She loves "Spirit" and "Black Beauty." We got her Fraggle Rock and it was soon a favorite. She's got good taste.

I love my little girl and am looking forward to all the new things she's learning. It's crazy, she's not my baby anymore!

....snifff......

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Turkey Day all! I am about to enjoy some tasty pies!

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Happy Birthday, Cecily!

Friday was Cecily's birthday. We had a nice party at her Grammie and Papa's house (Nate's parents). Cecily even picked her own outfit for the day. She got some "rockies" (seasons 2 & 3 of Fraggle Rock, she loves it!) and Spirit on DVD. My mom got her a pirate ship she has played with that everyday since her birthday!





At the store, we were buying some cake mix, and she really wanted the pink one, so I made her a strawberry cake with homemade berry filling and yummy buttercream frosting (pats self on back!). She made an attempt at blowing out her candle. But she loved the cake. All in all it was a nice birthday, but a little stressful to get everything ready.

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The Halloween Post, finally!

So, I have finally decided to write about Halloween, well at least to share some pictures of it. Cecily had a wonderful time. She really hasn't stopped talking about it. She loved the "punkins" and getting "dockets" (chocolates), and especially doing all the trick or treating with her cousins. It was funny, the next Sunday she wanted to go with Hannah to do more.

Cordelia was a bit of a pill and was generally not having a good time. Oh well, that's how she often is in the evenings. I did not dress up as Nate was at work so it was rather difficult to do so.

Anywho, on to the pictures!

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Here's the final movie poster....

I mentioned earlier! Ta-dah, it's my model baby:


Halloween photos to follow....

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Some cute pics from today..

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So, I made a Halloween costume...

I was thinking about what costume to get for Cecily and I wasn't quite finding what I wanted. I then had a brilliant idea to make a costume. So I took a couple things that I was getting rid of anyway so I handstitched this little number:

Hopefully it will look good and last the night. I am pretty amazed that I actually made it. I have a general fear of al things sewing or crafty....

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On Losing My Hair...

So, I am losing my hair. This is not your regular strand every now and again, this is strand after strand after strand 24/7 by the handful. Thankfully, the reason is legitimate and to be expected. I had a baby just a few months ago. Postpartum hair loss is just one of the many little surprises for you body.

Apparently, while one is pregnant, your body does not send out the proper signals to get rid of your hair so you generally don't lose much. This is why a pregnant lady's locks are generally rather luxuriant. But a few months after the baby is born, your hormones get back to normal and your hair tries to catch up by getting rid of all the hair that was scheduled to be lost during pregnancy. So that's 10+ months of hair loss in a matter of weeks.

You think that after 9 months of sickness, discomfort and every intrusion possible on your modesty, you can hope that after the labor and delivery, it will all be over when you hold your newborn in your arms. Nope. The after effects can sometimes be long lasting. Being stretched beyond belief to having a belly that looks like a fleshy deflated balloon to having your hair darken several shades. And that's not even the tip of the iceberg...

But, when I look at my sweet little girls, I realize that this transformation is worth it. So much so that it's worth repeating a few times, clogged drains and all.

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Lights, Camera, Don't Cry!

Yesterday, my sister, Eliza, called me and asked if I could bring the baby for a photo shoot for some sample movie posters. Her boyfriend, Leigh, is a director and is planning to make some movies and needed posters to sell the movies to different DVD markets.

So we hurriedly got ready and took a pleasantly uneventful (meaning quiet) trip to Los Angeles. Cecily took a dip on the jacuzzi with Eliza and had a great time.

One poster was for a disaster flick and the poster featured a fireman rescuing a baby. Guess which one? Both of my girls, in fact! So, they both received a dusting of dirt and took turns in the "fireman's" arms, who was, incidentally, just returning from Iraq.

Neither of the girls knew quite what to do about the strange guy in a weird hat, but they both did pretty well. Cordelia amazingly did not explode in a crying fit, she just grabbed the guy's neck and squeezed! She certainly showed him what for! Cecily just had a worried expression on her face, which I suppose fit perfectly for what was needed! She followed direction very well, she could probably be a little model. Hehehe....

We then had dinner at Shakey's Pizza. It was very loud with obnoxious karaoke in Spanish and of course bad singers.

The drive home was not exactly fun. Cordelia slept. (I can't believe it!) Cecily did not. Two hours of whining and crying and I was very glad to get back home. Whew!

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So I really am a wannabe photographer....

I really need some help to drum up some business. Like if anyone knows of anyone getting married, or who has some cute kids that need to be photographed, I am right here! Since I am still a bit of a novice, I won't charge much, but that, of course, is not a reflection of my ability... Hmmm some sample pics are below! hehehe... I know how many people will see this... maybe 3 tops....

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Some wedding and kid pics...

I thought I'd add some pictures I took at my big bro's wedding:

Matt and Cristina:






Cecily and Cordelia:

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